Porch sitting

On the other side of the park lives a boy

with a blue bike, red helmet and big smile

I see him everyday when I walk

we smile and wave as we pass

He rides by our porch and waves

I often see him on other porches

Talking with adults and other kids who

only venture off their porch with a parent

He’ll call out and wave, tell them I’m his friend

and I live on the corner across from the park

I wonder, if he’s a latchkey kid

parents always working to provide a roof over his head

I wonder, how he does in school

if teachers see the genius of his open face

And his joy of life or if they want

to medicate him to a chair

At first, I wanted to warn him

give him a mask and a safe distancing pep talk

But this week, I decided I won’t squeeze

the sweetness from his day

I don’t care, if he may be a conduit for COVID

he is happy and infects my neighborhood with joy

I wonder, if he knows he will grow into a big brown man

who strikes fear in the hearts of white privilege

That he may be arrested just for sitting near white people in a park

or hunted by neighborhood vigilantes; a shot gun tearing him in two

I wonder, if someone will take videos with their cell phone

so his family can protect his legacy when he’s gone

6-3-20